Why Water is Vital for a Healthy Brain?

Did you know that 85% of your brain is water?

This fact alone gives us a good picture of why water is essential for the brain. It may seem as though you drink water only to keep your body hydrated, but what you don’t know is that your brain is joining the party too!

A dry brain is equal to dry wit. A decrease in fluid in the brain can lead to irritability, concentration difficulties, headaches, cognitive problems or what we commonly know as “brain fog”.

Experiment:
Try going thirsty for a little while, and observe what happens to your mood and thinking.

The problem is that a lot of people don’t actually get the right hydration. Why is this happening? Perhaps we can blame the modern lifestyle of most people.

We go to work, spend the rest of the day in front of our desks, so caught up in our tasks that we forget about everything else, such as drinking enough water.

FACT:
The average person now drinks about two-thirds the needed amount of water on any day. Some only drink half the needed amount.

Even if you are sitting at desk all day and think you are not losing water, the bad news is, you are. You lose H2O to breathing and urination. Even if you’re only sitting in front of your laptop, reading this, you’re exhaling H2O and your kidneys are collecting waste fluids that you’ll release later.

Shocking Truth: Your Brain Suffers From Fluid Loss!

This may sound funny. After all, why does the brain need water? You have to remember that everything that happens in the brain involves electrochemical impulses which need a fluid medium. This may sound too scientific for you but basically … everything you do, from reading this text to moving your fingers to scroll down this page, involve neurochemical activity. These chemical activities cannot occur without water.

Did You Know Water Fuels Brain Activity?

The founder of the Advanced Learning and Development Institute, Dr. Corinne Allen, explains that the brain cells need twice more energy than any other cells in the body. A bulk of its energy comes from H2O molecules.

It makes sense to think that the control centre of the body needs sufficient water all the time. A properly hydrated brain has optimal functionality. It processes data, formulates ideas, solves problems, creates imaginations, and makes decisions at its best pace when it gets all nutrition it needs, including water.

Dehydration Harms the Brain

The brain is one of the organs most in danger to dehydration. The brain function slows down when it loses fluids. This is why you will feel the following things when you go thirsty for a long period:

irritable

confused

unable to focus

sluggish

mentally tired

These are the functions first to be affected. You don’t need significant water loss for this occur. If you lose 1% water, your mental functions decrease by 5%. Any dehydration beyond this causes:

disruption of short-term memory

significant loss of concentration

brain fog

dizziness

lethargy

Beware of Chronic Dehydration

People who suffer Chronic Dehydration don’t notice it when they are busy in their day to day activities. It’s easy to miss out on adequate fluid intake when you’re always hard at work.

The neurons or brain cells store water inside vacuoles.Vacuoles are water-filled storage sacks found in cells. When the brain doesn’t receive enough water over a long period of time, these sacks shrink, and their shrinkage results in the shrinkage of brain cells.

Chronic dehydration is one factor that leads to development of degenerative mental disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. Remember that water is essential in transport of nutrients and removal of waste products from cells. Lack of water hampers adequate transport of nutrients and causes accumulation of cellular junk (toxins and free radicals), which damage brain cells and disrupt neurotransmitter function.

Apparently people with autism, depression, anxiety disorder, and attention deficit disorder (ADD) are more susceptible to water loss and dehydration only worsens mental disorders.

The Solution: Be Smart & Drink Enough Water.

It doesn’t get simpler than that. Also make sure you’re drinking clean, safe water.

A healthy life is a happy life and I am passionate about quality drinking water, healthy eating, and being consciously healthy. I love to share my journey, the ups and the downs. As I make changes and learn in my own life and I will share those changes and learnings with you